This one is a sort of medium-dark brown with a hint of violet in the body and some ruby in the very thinnest edges. The head is off-white, pretty small but fairly firm at the layer that stands up for the duration. Lacing consists almost exclusively of light spotting, but some little legs go out here and there.There's some caramel in the nose, seemingly from the malts and a little sweetness. The potato itself is evident. There is an unfortunate, though not heavy, vegetal note.The flavor pulls together nicely; malts form a good backbone with some caramel sweetness, the sweet potato makes a good showing, and there even seems to be a bit of alcoholic sweetness as well. I'm not sure what the yeast content is, but it seems to be contributing a different sort of earthiness and light sweetness of its own. It's pretty bready in the malts, too.The body is lighter than some might expect, though it reaches a firm medium. It's a bit too carbonated, but it holds the malts well. It's lightly crisp and decently smooth, keeping up almost entirely to the end.Maybe there are better Happoshu beers out there, but from how little seems to be out there, probably not. Then again, I've never been to Japan.

Pours coppery brown with a small head.Sweet potato is quite prominent in the aroma, but also some sweet malt. very interesting.Lots of sweet potato as a flavour too. A hit of booze ruins things a little though. Again, quite sweet.Body feels a bit flat, need a lot more carbonation to cut the sweetness.

So this is my first Happoshu. Not sure what to expect here, this sweet potato concoction, but here goes. Poured into a nonic pint glass. Heard some horrid things about Happoshu, however this is Codeo and have managed to enjoy at least their Hefeweizen.

Out of the bottle is watery sounding pour, a bit of slap slap as the beverage enters the glass. Deep amber plum like red body, highly murky and cloudy. Barely makes half a finger of tan head, to fall to a filmy puck. Manages to maintain at least a tan collar that is about three millimeters thick and resembling at least a beer.

Sweet malts, kind of maraschino sticky cherry, and alcohol fussel like heat and warmth. Really not much else going on, but definitely sweet and getting into malt liquor like realm.

Surprisingly very light bodied, nearly crisp. Sweetness comes with a minimal subdued mouthfeel, but there's some hint of crackling toast and grains here, maybe even some caramel sweetness. Once again, jarred sugar cherries and plum like fruit, but kind of cheap tasting.

The most interesting thing, is I thought this was going to be an alcohol malt liquor sugar bomb but it's actually well hidden and drinks real easily. Most of the happoshu I've heard about is a canned cheap swill beverage, but this is a little different even if it's not really looking that appealing.

A: The beer is clear dark reddish amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with just a few bubbles on the surface and a very thin ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.S: There are light aromas of sweet potatoes in the nose; these become a little stronger as the beer warms up.T: Similar to the smell, the taste has lots of flavors of sweet potatoes and a slight amount of sweetness.M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a low to moderate amount of carbonation.O: This beer style is definitely unique and sweet potato is more interesting as an adjunct malt compared to corn and rice. It definitely tastes a lot more flavorful compared to Japanese rice lagers.

T/M-The addition of sweet potatoes is interesting. It conjures a flavor comparable to maple syrup, and has an earthy character most likely attributable to potato skins. Not bad, but it gets old fast. Medium bodied with low carbonation.

O-The best I've had from Coedo. Wish it had a little more going for it other than the sweet potato.

There is initially a sweet and tart fragrance with herbal hops, caramel, and an earthy undertone; there's some almond and cocoa after a couple minutes. The light khaki head is short-lived; the body is reddish-brown with orange highlights (resembles Lipton tea). It's quite flavorful but peculiar—it has the spicy, fruity taste of a lager, but the sweet potato, which is subtle but detectable, contributes its characteristic starchy sweetness and lingers noticeably in the finish. Its body is medium-light; the carbonation is fairly low but lends considerable crispness; the 7% ABV is very well masked.

Flavorful with a visually appealing hue, this is a rather welcome variation on an otherwise unremarkable style. The flavors and aromas are only a step up from par, but it's far from bad. And as an ingredient in the popular variety of sake, shochu, the sweet potato contributes an interesting Japanese twist.

A: Pours a crystal clear dark amber in color with some very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer poured with no head and there was no lacing observed.

S: Definite sweetness in the aroma but a more pleasant smell from the sweet potato than what I find in a corn/grain/rice adjunct malts. Pleasant and inviting but not overly strong.

T: Very sweet, almost to the sweetness levels I associate with a quad. The sweet potato flavor comes through along with some more traditional malts.

M: Medium bodied with light carbonation. Smooth.

O: A very elusive style that I am psyched I found and tried, the use of non-corn/grain/rice as the adjunct malts definitely makes it a unique experience. I very much enjoyed the beer and felt it easy to drink, one you could have many of in a session. Matches well with sushi. Some definite complexity to the aroma and flavor. I would get this one again.